12/02/2008

USASome California residents are all shook up after a moderate 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck about 150 miles west of Eureka on Friday, and a handful of minor quakes rattled interior Southern California over the weekend. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

The first tremblor hit off the Pacific coast at 5:42 a.m. local time (8:42 a.m. Eastern), according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Two magnitude-4.1 quakes struck north of Trona, Calif., yesterday and Saturday, the USGS said. Seven smaller quakes ranging from magnitude 3.0 to 3.3 hit before and after those shakeups.

The earthquakes serve as a reminder to Californians that their state sits on fault lines. Much more rare: a spate of minor earthquakes in central Arkansas last month that now has seismologists wondering if bigger ones are to come, the Associated Press reports.